Male Impersonators: Men Performing Masculinity (Paperback)

~ (Author) "THE year 1993 may well come to be seen as a watershed in the study of modern masculinity..." (more)
Key Phrases: torso ads, gay videoporn, phallocentric economy, Top Gun, Marky Mark, Iron John (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sharp, astute and decidedly spunky, Simpson's essays are guaranteed to amuse, provoke and illuminate..." -- Andy Medhurst, University of Sussex

"Simpson pulls the pants off popular culture and wittily winks at the Freudian symbols lurking beneath." -- The Modern Review

"This is queer theory without the jargon and is a must for anyone interested in things male." -- Choice

Discussions of masculinity have hitherto been characterized by a timid tone of pious apology--here at last is the antidote to that all-too-sombre debate. Sharp, astute and decidedly spunky, Simpson's essays are guaranteed to amuse, provoke and illuminate..
–Andy Medhurst, University of Sussex

Discussions of masculinity have hitherto been characterized by a timid tone of pious apology--here at last is the antidote to that all-too-sombre debate. Sharp, astute and decidedly spunky, Simpsons essays are guaranteed to amuse, provoke and illuminate..
–Andy Medhurst, University of Sussex

Simpson pulls the pants off popular culture and wittily winks at the Freudian symbols lurking beneath. Arnie's rumpsteak in cute combat cut-offs, Markey Mark as the Calvin Klein kid, Elivis's pomaded pompadour, Tom Cruise's baseball bat--there's a homo-erotic panto playing near you..
–The Modern Review

Simpson pulls the pants off popular culture and wittily winks at the Freudian symbols lurking beneath. Arnies rumpsteak in cute combat cut-offs, Markey Mark as the Calvin Klein kid, Eliviss pomaded pompadour, Tom Cruises baseball bat--theres a homo-erotic panto playing near you..
–The Modern Review

This is queer theory without the jargon and is a must for anyone interested in things male.
–Choice

Product Description

In Male Impersonators, Mark Simpson explores the range of male life and masculinity, posing witty and important questions about bodybuilding, tatoos, pornography, cruising, advertising, and team sports. Simpson looks at how gay men appropriate the skinhead phenomenon and why; how Marky Mark exploits the hustler mystique and hwat it says to gay and straight men; how the Men's movement is being sought out by men--straight or gay--who feel alienated from a macho culture, and compares the participation and reactions of men to various ``manly pursuits.'' Throughout, Male Impersonators examines the roles of homoeroticism and narcissism in the male world, and the performativity of masculinity itself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (March 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415909910
• ISBN-13: 978-0415909914
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #491,941 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN INSPIRATION TO TARANTINO?, April 10, 2000

By A Customer

One of the most interesting - and funniest - books I've ever read, and certainly by far the best on masculinity. I especially enjoyed the masterpiece chapter on the movie 'Top Gun' which completely convincingly interprets it as a gay movie and shows how Cruise's real interest is Val Kilmer not Kelly McGillis.

Shortly after this book was published Quentin Tarantino appeared in a film called 'Sleep With Me' arguing this exact point. I wonder if he had a copy of Simpson's book in his dressing-room?

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LAMBDA BOOK REPORT, September 24, 1998

By A Customer

`These smashingly provocative essays by the spunky Brit writer Mark Simpson... detonate myths, stereotypes and icons, gay as well as straight. The psycho-social line separating homo and hetero maleness, he fulsomely shows, is much fuzzier than Robert Bly and Pat Buchanan find it to be.'

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CHOICES REVIEW, September 24, 1998

By A Customer

`This set of high-spirited essays displays more insight into the masculine mystique than has the decade of earnest men's studies that preceded it. Simpson has an unerring eye for the inner logic and pretences of a wide range of masculine enterprises and symbols. ` - Choices